Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Today we're welcoming author Jennifer Conner to the blog on her tour with Goddess Fish Promotions for her romance novel, "Love Comes for Halloween".

Jennifer will be awarding a Halloween Bracelet to a randomly drawn commenter (US/Canada Only) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so comment today AND follow her tour (if you click on the banner over there on the left, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops)!

The more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win prize! Now, we'll let Jennifer answer all our prying questions!

Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

I love to write romance and have written in many different genres(sweet, spicy, paranormal, historical) for Books to Go Now (the publisher) but always romance. I think I have always liked happy endings. There are so many big life problems out there; I want to spend my evenings with things working out for people and having them happy.

What research is required?

Part of writing is doing research. Even for the sweet romances, there’s some. They say write what you know, but it is fun to write what you don’t know and learn new things. With Love Comes for Halloween, they are both motorcycle riders. I know NOTHING about motorcycles, so had to find out what could possibly break down on a bike and the prices of her vintage bike. I also just returned from a trip across Oregon where Jane (my heroine) travels to better describe the mountain roads she rode on.

There is much less research then with my Historicals, but you want everything to be right!

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

I love characters with a little bit of baggage. Gage, in Love Comes for Halloween, has a prison record, so life hasn’t been easy. Most of us know someone who has done something stupid and has been to jail. But many don’t take advantage of that second chance. Gage is trying to reinvent his life and start over. Everyone deserves one do-over.

Any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

When I was writing longer, full-length books, I would buy a cool journal with each new story. Now, with the shorter stories, I still carry around a journal. I write down plot ideas or names I like. As far as superstitions, a good friend gave me a red candle holder to light in the ‘fame corner’ of my house for feng shui. If it works, you bet I believe in it!

Plotter or pantser?

Somewhere in between. I have the beginning, middle, and the end but don’t plot out huge storyboards of ideas. I like to have the characters, (usually the hero *G*) in mind with a photo. Gage is David Williams, an Australian Rugby player they call wolfman. Check out his transformation when he shaved off his beard! OMG!

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

Always a coffee cup, a stand up old piano and my writing desk. I love old, antique pieces they have such stories to tell.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

In my Historical Romance Series, The Regimental Heroes, story 4, Redemption for a Rogue, just came out with Books to Go Now. I also have a Time-Travel Romance, Walk With Me Through Time that I am very excited about. And another spicy addition, Halloween Treat. In December, I will have two holiday stories.

Do you have a question for our readers?

What kind of giveaways do you like to see on blogs? Are you looking for free ebooks or do you prefer swag. Eg: Jewelry, gift cards, etc.? It’s nice to know what readers like.

I’d like to thank It’s Raining Books for this great chance to be in touch with their readers.

Now it’s her turn. Until she’s kissed, Jane, is the last one of her girlfriends to wear the Mobile Mistletoe. Feeling pressured by her friends, she jumps on her dad’s motorcycle and heads out on the open road. But she doesn’t get far before it breaks down. What else can go wrong? Will she be eaten by a bear?

Gage has a past he wants to forget. Retreating to the mountains, where he can build custom bikes and cars in seclusion, he wants to give back for the mistakes he’s made.

Neither Jane or Gage are looking for a relationship, but isn’t Halloween the perfect time of year to scare up some love?

“Well it’s working. You’re beautiful in the morning.” His gaze locked with hers and she knew he meant what he said. “I don’t know how you manage to look so good. I look so bad I must look good.” He chuckled.

She shifted feet and tucked her hair behind her ear. Gage must have just taken a shower, he smelled like manly spicy soap and shampoo and his hair was still damp at the tips. He was cute. He was very cute. What would he look like without all that beard scuff? She tipped her head and tried to imagine.

He took off the hood of the car and lay in on the workbench for her to begin airbrushing the eagle design. It was hard to concentrate on what she was doing when her eyes kept wandering to the fine set of Levi’s bent over the car which were attached to Gage’s rear end.

As hours passed, the afternoon sun heated the shop and soon Gage shucked off his flannel shirt and threw it over a chair. Jane’s pulse jumped when Gage reached over his head to stretch. He exposed a sliver of ab muscles and a trail of black belly hair. Oh my. Like a fine lady of the South, Jane wished she had a piece of paper to fan herself.

Jennifer Conner is a best-selling Northwest author who has twenty short stories and one full length book on ebook and in print. She writes in Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, and Erotica.

Christmas Chaos was in the Kindle sales top 50 ebooks and #2 in the Romance category.

Her novel Shot in the Dark was a finalist in the Emerald City Opener, Cleveland, and Toronto RWA contests.

Jennifer is an Associate Publisher for the indie e-book publisher, Books to Go Now who resides in the Seattle area. They pride themselves in helping new authors get their foot in the door with well-edited manuscripts, professional covers, and platforms uploads.

She live in a hundred year old house that she grew up in. Her semi-small town holds an interesting mix of resident hillbillies, yuppies and Navy Seals. And of course Seattle, only a few miles away, is the birthplace of Starbucks so coffee is always on the check list. She blows glass beads with a blow torch, (which relieves a lot of stress and people don't bother you) and is a huge fan of my local soccer teams, the Seattle Sounders, and Kitsap Pumas. Boys in shorts! :)

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